The short version

Tabitha Jane Maple was born at 10:59 p.m. on Tuesday, September 26. 8 pounds 3 ounces, and with a full head of hair. The labor maintained its steady pace the whole way through; it totalled some 31 hours from the point where it started to hurt... 14 at the hospital. No drugs, in the end. (Which almost makes me feel like I don't have a birth story: no drama along the way! It was long and slow, and it hurt, and Tabby and I were both fine.)

We spent an extra day at the hospital, held captive by renegade pediatricians concerned with number of feeding attempts and weight loss. (It was a fine chance to finally hash out the name argument in a neutral location, actually.) Today they tried to hold us again (she's lost 11% of her birth weight) but we promised to hold to the lactation boot camp program that had been prescibed and to see a local pediatrician tomorrow morning. And to consider supplementation: she was awfully groggy the last time I tried to feed her, I have to say. My boobs are ginormous, but not yet shooting out fluid.

But we're home! My God, we're home, with a lovely little baby.

Meanwhile, my sister-in-law has gone into full preeclampsia. Yesterday they started trying to induce her; today, just a couple of hours ago, they decided on a c-section instead, after she'd spent 3 hours at 7 cm. (Um...) (Actually, um...)

Comments

[Leslie]

Congratulations! so glad it all went well and that you're home.

Hope everything goes ok for your sister-in-law.

[noether]

Congratulations! I'm so glad it worked out well.

[Mykal]

Congratulations!

[New Kid on the Hallway]

Congratulations and welcome to Tabitha! How wonderful! (Do you mean September 6?) Best wishes to you all!

[profgrrrrl]

Hooray! Congratulations :)

[Karen F.]

I'm so so so THRILLED for you! Welcome to the adventure of parenthood! I LOVE the name, too! All the best.

[liz]

Congratulations!!! Welcome home!

[mary]

Congratulations from a lurker. Welcome to the world, little Tabitha Jane!

[Jody]

Congratulations! Many, MANY congratulations!

[zarqa]

Oh! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations! Tabitha is a wonderful name!

[Rivka]

Congratulations! I'm so pleased for you all.

[cass]

Congratulations!! So glad you're home, and hope the feeding thing works itself out smoothly, and soon.

I hope all is well with your SIL, too.

[Emma almost Jane]

Wonderful news, Emma. My warmest congratulations and good luck for dealing with the paediatricians and their obsession with gaining weight from day one. Such a load of crap. Enjoy your lovely baby and all will be well.
hugs

[kimberly]

Congratulations!

[Kate]

Awwww! You're a mommy! Congratulations!

[quetzal]

How wonderful!! Many congratulations, and Tabitha is such a beautiful name! :)

[Arabella]

Congratulations from yet another lurker.

[bj]

congratulations!

bj

PS: I'll presume baby was born on the 6th?

[Kendra]

Hooray! Welcome home to both of you!!

[Tara]

Great News!! Welcome Tabitha Jane...what a beautiful name.

[Powerprof]

How wonderful! Congratulations!

[Advice At Your Own Risk]

Congratulations!!

[luolin]

Congratulations!

[bitchphd]

Congratulations! Tabitha is a lovely name. And I hope your sister-in-law recovers quickly.

[Moxie]

Congratulations! Long and painful sounds about right. :) Hope the boob juice starts squirting soon. If you had any IV fluids you might have to wait a few more days before your milk comes out, so make sure you have an LC who's on top of the whole IV fluid/delayed milk thing.